Methods for using resonant waveguide-grating filters and sensors

ABSTRACT

Methods of detecting one or more parameters of a medium are disclosed. The methods include providing a waveguide grating device, contacting the waveguide grating with a medium, propagating a signal having at least one signal attribute through the waveguide, and comparing the modified signal attribute to a known signal attribute to detect a parameter of the medium.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/707,435, filed Nov. 6,2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,167,615, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/163,705 filed Nov. 5, 1999and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/164,089 filed Nov.6, 1999. The entire texts of these provisional patent applications arespecifically incorporated by reference without disclaimer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of optical filtersand sensors. More particularly, it concerns the use of the guided-moderesonance effect occurring through the use of waveguide gratingsattached to the endfaces of waveguides such as optical fibers in fieldssuch as optical sensing and communications.

2. Description of Related Art

Resonance anomalies occurring in waveguide gratings (WGGs) have been thesubject of current interest for spectral filtering applications[Magnusson and Wang, 1992; Wang and Magnusson, 1993; Wang and Magnusson,1994; Shin et al., 1998; Tibuleac and Magnusson, 1997; Tibuleac, et al.,2000; Wawro, et al., 2000; Avrutsky, et al., 1989; Boye and Kostuk,1999; and Rosenblatt, et al., 1997]. Guided-mode resonances (GMRs)occurring in subwavelength WGGs admitting only zero-order propagatingdiffraction orders yield spectral filters with unique properties such aspeak reflectances approaching 100%, narrow linewidths, and lowsidebands. Filter characteristics, such as center wavelength, linewidthand sideband behavior, are defined by the waveguide-grating parameters,such as grating period, grating profile, refractive indices, layerthicknesses, and grating fill factor.

Changes in any parameters of the diffractive structure can result in aresponsive shift of the reflected or transmitted wavelength band. Ingeneral, for spectral filtering applications, the most stable GMRstructure is sought to prevent an unwanted resonance shift due to smallparameter fluctuations. However, for spectroscopic sensing applications,it is desirable to enhance the resonance instability to create a devicethat will respond to very small parameter changes. This type of devicecan be utilized, for example, to detect very small changes in therefractive index or thickness of a media being evaluated in biomedical,industrial or environmental sensing applications. Implementation of theguided-mode resonance effect for optical sensing using planar waveguidegrating structures and free-space propagating incident waves has beenproposed in previous publications [Wang and Magnusson, 1993; Shin etal., 1998].

Experimental fabrication of waveguide gratings utilizing the GMR effecthas primarily been restricted to planar WGGs with an incident beam thatis propagating in free space. Experimental results for 1-D grating GMRfilters incorporate single layer and multilayer reflection filterdesigns, including a TM polarization reflection filter utilizing theBrewster effect [Magnusson, et al., 1998]. Double layer GMR filterefficiencies as high as 98.5% have been reported by Liu, et al. for TEincident polarization [Liu, et al., 1998]. GMR crossed gratingstructures (2-D grating filters) have been experimentally fabricated byPeng and Morris [Peng and Morris, 1996], with a reported filterefficiency of 60%. Norton et al. [Norton, et al., 1998] investigated thedependence of lineshape and tunability in central wavelength andresonant angle position on grating parameters.

Chen [Chen, 1988] reports a theoretical design incorporating adiffraction grating on an optical fiber endface that is used to excitehigher order modes in multimode optical fibers. Wang et al. [Wang, etal., 1995] reports a fiber optic proximity sensor design incorporating adiffraction grating on a fiber endface. However, the diffractiongratings reported in these two references do not have waveguideproperties, and, consequently, do not exhibit the GMR effect.

A biosensor is an analytical device that integrates an immobilizedbiologically sensitive material (analyte), such as enzyme, antibody,DNA, cells, or organic molecules, with an electrochemical,piezoelectric, optical or acoustic transducer to convert a biochemicalresponse into a signal for measurement, interpretation, or control.Electrochemical and optical sensors are most widely used. Opticalbiosensors can provide fast, accurate, and safe analyte detection.Current fiber-optic sensor technology applies fluorescence, totalinternal reflection, intensity reflection, and surface-plasmonresonances.

The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect, is a widely used opticaldetection method that is highly sensitive to changes in the opticalproperties (refractive index, monolayer thickness) at the sensorsurface. The term surface plasmon (SP) refers to an electromagneticfield charge-density oscillation that can occur at the surface of aconductor. An SP mode can be resonantly excited by parallel-polarized(TM) incident light. Conventional surface plasmon sensors include aprism or diffraction grating for phase matching of the incident and SPwaves; commercial systems employ bulk optical components. Fiber-opticSPR sensors have been reported; in these a metal sleeve is deposited onthe side of the fiber to which the analyte is contacted. A drawback ofthe SPR technology is the inherently large linewidth; typically Δλ˜50nm. Therefore, a sensor utilizing the GMR effect that would providesmaller linewidths would exhibit a significant resolution dynamic-rangeadvantage over SPR sensors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one respect, the invention is a waveguide grating device. The deviceincludes at least one waveguide that has an end, and the end has anendface. As used herein, “waveguide” means any device possessing astructure capable of confining optical energy. As used herein, “endface”means a face on the end of a waveguide that may be oriented at any anglewith respect to a wave being propagated through the waveguide. Thedevice also includes a waveguide grating fabricated on the endface ofthe at least one waveguide. The waveguide grating has at least onewaveguide layer and at least one grating layer. As used herein, “gratinglayer” includes any suitable layer possessing a grating. The gratings onthe present grating layers include surface-relief type gratings (e.g.,those in which the amplitude of the grating may be modulated) and volumegratings (e.g., those in which the refractive index of the grating maybe modulated). The periodicity of the gratings of the present gratinglayers may be varied and/or their modulation depth (amplitude or index)may be varied. The grating may be nonuniform. As used herein, “waveguidelayer” includes any suitable layer possessing a structure capable ofconfining optical energy. Throughout the present disclosure, includingthe claims, waveguide layers are distinct from the waveguides on whichthey are fabricated. The at least one waveguide layer and the at leastone grating layer may be the same layer.

In other respects, the at least one waveguide may be a fiber. The atleast one waveguide may possess any suitable shape, includingelliptical. The shape may be rectangular. The at least one waveguide maybe a channel waveguide. The at least one waveguide may be cylindrical inshape. The at least one waveguide may be a slab waveguide. The at leastone waveguide may be a ridge waveguide. The at least one grating layermay include a dielectric material. The at least one grating layer mayinclude a glass. The at least one grating layer may include a polymer.The at least one grating layer may include a solid or liquid crystallinematerial. The at least one grating layer may include a semiconductormaterial. The at least one grating layer may include a photorefractivematerial. The at least one waveguide layer may include a dielectricmaterial. The at least one waveguide layer may include a glass. The atleast one waveguide layer may include a polymer. The at least onewaveguide layer may include a solid or liquid crystalline material. Theat least one waveguide layer may include a semiconductor material. Theat least one waveguide layer may include a photorefractive material. Theat least one grating layer and the at least one waveguide layer may bethe same layer. The at least one grating layer and the at least onewaveguide layer may be different layers in contact with each other. Thewaveguide grating may also include at least a third layer in contactwith the at least one waveguide layer, the at least one grating layer,or both the at least one waveguide layer and the at least one gratinglayer. The at least third layer may be a buffer layer, which may beformed from any material suitable for forming either the at least onewaveguide layer or the at least one grating layer, and which may beformed using the same techniques that may be used to form either the atleast one waveguide layer or the at least one grating layer.

As a buffer layer, the at least third layer may be made of a dielectricand may serve to shape the spectral reflection of the waveguide grating,such as to lower the sidebands, shift the resonance to a desiredwavelength, or narrow or widen the linewidth of the GMR. The bufferlayer may serve as neither a waveguide layer nor a grating layer. The atleast third layer may also be formed of metal, which in someembodiments, may serve a buffer layer intermediate two layers of thewaveguide grating that do not otherwise attach well to one another. Inother embodiments, the at least third layer (made from either adielectric or a metal, for example), may be the layer of the waveguidegrating in contact with a substance to be sensed/evaluated. In somecases, the substance to be sensed may not attach itself efficiently todielectric materials composing, at least in part, the waveguide grating.The use of a third layer that is thin may facilitate the attachment ofsubstances being sensed. In still other embodiments, such as biomedicalapplications, an organic substance being sensed may attach itself onlyto other organic substances, and not to dielectric or metallic layers ofthe waveguide grating. In such situations, the use of a third layer(metallic, for example) may be used to which another (fourth) organiclayer could be attached. The organic substance being sensed could thenattach itself to such a fourth organic layer. The at least third layermay be distinct from both the at least one waveguide and grating layers.The waveguide grating may also include at least a third layer in contactwith the at least one grating layer, and may include an arbitrarilylarge number of layers, each of which may be either additional waveguidelayers, additional grating layers, or additional buffer layers.

In another respect, the invention is a system for spectral filtering andthe system utilizes a guided-mode resonance effect in a waveguide. Theguided-mode resonance effect is described below in greater detail. Thesystem includes a waveguide grating device. The waveguide grating deviceincludes at least one waveguide that has a proximal end and a distalend. The distal end of the at least one waveguide has an endface. Thedevice also has a waveguide grating fabricated on the endface of the atleast one waveguide. The waveguide grating has at least one waveguidelayer and at least one grating layer. The waveguide grating also has aplurality of variable parameters. The plurality of variable parametersincludes at least one permittivity of the at least one grating layer,the permittivity of the at least one waveguide layer, the periodicstructure of the at least one grating layer, the grating fill factor ofthe at least one grating layer, the thickness of the at least onewaveguide layer, and the thickness of the at least one grating layer.The at least one waveguide layer and the at least one grating layer maybe the same layer. Also, the permittivity of the at least one waveguidelayer and one of the permittivities of the at least one permittivity ofthe at least one grating layer may be the same.

In other respects, the system may also include a source coupled to theproximal end of the at least one waveguide for propagating a signalthrough the at least one waveguide. After the signal is propagated, itcontacts the waveguide grating and is reflected from the waveguidegrating in whole or in part, or transmitted through the waveguidegrating in whole in or in part, depending at least partially upon theplurality of variable parameters. The source may be a broadband source.The source may be a white light. The source may be a light emittingdiode. The source may be a laser. The source may be a continuous wavesource. The source may be a pulsed source. The source may be polarized.The source may be unpolarized. The source may be an incoherent lightsource. The source may be a coherent light source. The source may havewavelengths ranging from the ultraviolet to microwave range (on theorder of 100 nm to the order of tens of centimeters).

In still other respects, the system may also include a photodetectoroperationally coupled to the at least one waveguide. As used herein, ifa first device is “operationally coupled” to a second device, one ormore mediums or devices may separate the first and second devices suchthat the first and second devices are not in physical contact with eachother. The photodetector may include silicon. The photodetector mayinclude germanium. The photodetector may include indium galliumarsenide. Silicon, germanium, and indium gallium arsenide are examplesof semiconductor detectors that may serve as photodetectorsoperationally coupled to waveguides of the present devices.Semiconductor detectors are power detectors commonly used in thedetection of continuous wave sources ranging from about 160 nm to about1800 nm wavelengths (e.g., visible range to infrared). The photodetectormay include a pyroelectric material. The photodetector may include thehuman eye.

In other respects, the at least one waveguide may be a fiber. The atleast one waveguide may be rectangular in shape. The at least onewaveguide may be a channel waveguide. The at least one waveguide may becylindrical in shape. The at least one waveguide may be a slabwaveguide. The at least one waveguide may be a ridge waveguide. The atleast one grating layer may include a dielectric material. The at leastone grating layer may include a glass. The at least one grating layermay include a polymer. The at least one grating layer may include aliquid or solid crystalline material. The at least one grating layer mayinclude a semiconductor material. The at least one grating layer mayinclude a photorefractive material. The at least one waveguide layer mayinclude a dielectric material. The at least one waveguide layer mayinclude a glass. The at least one waveguide layer may include a polymer.The at least one waveguide layer may include a liquid or solidcrystalline material. The at least one waveguide layer may include asemiconductor material. The at least one waveguide layer may include aphotorefractive material. The at least one grating layer and the atleast one waveguide layer may be the same layer. The at least onegrating layer and the at least one waveguide layer may be differentlayers in contact with each other. The waveguide grating may alsoinclude a third layer in contact with the at least one waveguide layer.The third layer may be a buffer layer, which may be formed from anymaterial suitable for forming either the at least one waveguide layer orthe at least one grating layer, and which may be formed using the sametechniques that may be used to form either the at least one waveguidelayer or the at least one grating layer. The third layer may be distinctfrom both the at least one waveguide and grating layers. The pluralityof variable parameters may include the thickness of the third layer. Thewaveguide grating may also include a third layer in contact with the atleast one grating layer, and may include an arbitrarily large number oflayers, each of which may be either additional waveguide layers,additional grating layers, or additional buffer layers.

In still other respects, the system may include a sensor operationallycoupled to the waveguide grating device. The sensor may be anelectrochemical sensor. The sensor may be an optical sensor. The sensormay be a surface plasmon sensor. The sensor may be a fluorescencesensor. The sensor may be an evanescent wave sensor.

In another respect, the invention is a waveguide grating device thatincludes at least one waveguide through which a signal having at leastone wavelength may be propagated. The at least one waveguide has an end,and the end has an endface. The device also includes a waveguide gratingfabricated on the endface of the at least one waveguide. The waveguidegrating has at least one waveguide layer and at least one grating layer.The waveguide grating also has a plurality of variable parameters. Theplurality of variable parameters includes at least one permittivity ofthe at least one grating layer, the permittivity of the at least onewaveguide layer, the periodic structure of the at least one gratinglayer, the grating fill factor of the at least one grating layer, thethickness of the at least one waveguide layer, and the thickness of theat least one grating layer. The periodic structure of the at least onegrating layer has a period less than the at least one wavelength of thesignal. The at least one waveguide layer and the at least one gratinglayer may be the same layer. Also, the permittivity of the at least onewaveguide layer and one of the permittivities of the at least onepermittivity of the at least one grating layer may be the same.

In another respect, the invention is a waveguide grating device thatincludes at least a first waveguide having a first end. The first endhas a first endface. The waveguide grating device also includes a firstwaveguide grating fabricated on the first endface. The first waveguidegrating has at least a first waveguide layer and at least a firstgrating layer. The at least first waveguide layer and the at least firstgrating layer may be the same layer. The waveguide grating device alsoincludes at least a second waveguide having a second end. The second endhas a second endface. The waveguide grating device also includes asecond waveguide grating fabricated on the second endface. The secondwaveguide grating has at least a second waveguide layer and at least asecond grating layer. The at least second waveguide layer and the atleast second grating layer may be the same layer.

In other respects, the at least first and second waveguides may befibers.

In another respect, the invention is a method of forming a waveguidegrating device that includes providing at least one waveguide that hasan end, and the end has an endface; and fabricating a waveguide gratingon the endface of the at least one waveguide to form the waveguidegrating device.

In other respects, the method may also include cleaving the end to formthe endface of the at least one waveguide. The method may also includepolishing the end to form the endface of the at least one waveguide.

In still other respects, the waveguide grating may include at least onelayer of polymer. The fabricating may include dipping the endface of theat least one waveguide into the polymer. The method may also includeheating the at least one layer of polymer. The method may also includepatterning the at least one layer of polymer. The patterning may includeholographic interferometry, photolithography, electron-beam lithography,laser-beam lithography, or contact printing the at least one layer ofpolymer to form a grating. The fabricating may include spin coating theendface of the at least one waveguide with a polymer.

In still other respects, the waveguide grating may include at least onelayer of photosensitive glass or at least one layer of dielectric. Themethod may also include etching the at least one layer of dielectric toform a grating.

In other respects, the waveguide grating may include at least a firstlayer and at least a second layer adjacent the at least first layer. Thefabricating may include depositing the at least first layer on theendface of the at least one waveguide by sputtering and coating the atleast first layer with the at least second layer. The fabricating mayalso include depositing the at least first layer on the endface of theat least one waveguide by thermal evaporation. The fabricating mayinclude depositing the at least first layer on the endface of the atleast one waveguide by electron-beam evaporation. The fabricating mayalso include depositing the at least first layer on the endface of theat least one waveguide by molecular beam epitaxy. The fabricating mayalso include depositing the at least first layer on the endface of theat least one waveguide by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Thefabricating may include depositing the at least first layer on theendface of the at least one waveguide by chemical vapor deposition. Thefabricating may include depositing the at least first layer on theendface of the at least one waveguide by liquid phase epitaxy.

In another respect, the invention is a method of detecting at least oneparameter of a medium. As used herein, “medium” means material underinvestigation in solid, liquid, plasma, or gas form. The method includesproviding a waveguide grating device. The device includes at least onewaveguide that has an end, and the end has an endface. The device alsoincludes a waveguide grating fabricated on the endface of the at leastone waveguide. The waveguide grating has at least one waveguide layerand at least one grating layer. The at least one waveguide layer and theat least one grating layer may be the same layer. The method alsoincludes contacting the waveguide grating with a medium, propagating asignal having at least one signal attribute through the at least onewaveguide such that the signal contacts the waveguide grating and the atleast one signal attribute is modified, and comparing the modifiedsignal attribute to a known signal attribute to detect the at least oneparameter of the medium. As used herein, “signal attribute” means powerof a reflected or transmitted wave at a specific wavelength, a specificspectral range, or a specific polarization.

In other respects, the at least one signal attribute may be the spectralcontent of the signal. The at least one signal attribute may be theintensity of the signal. The at least one signal attribute may be thepolarization of the signal. The at least one parameter of the medium maybe the presence or absence of a substance. The at least one parameter ofthe medium may also be the quantity of a substance. The at least oneparameter of the medium may be the refractive index of the medium. Theat least one parameter of the medium may be the thickness of the medium.The medium may include a first parameter and a second parameter, and thecomparing may include comparing the modified signal attribute to a knownsignal attribute to detect both the first and second parameters.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings form part of the present specification and areincluded to further demonstrate certain aspects of the presentinvention. The invention may be better understood by reference to one ormore of these drawings in combination with the detailed description ofspecific embodiments presented herein.

FIGS. 1 and 2. An embodiment of one of the present devices useful as areflection filter designed for an ionic self assembled polymer waveguidelayer having a thickness d₂ and a photoresist grating layer having athickness d₁ recorded on the top surface. TE polarization at normalincidence, n_(C)=1.0, n_(1H)=1.632, n_(1L)=1.0, n₂=1.8, n_(S)=1.45,d₁=200 nm, d₂=280 nm, Λ=515 nm, fill factor f=0.5. As depicted, fΛ isthe width of the high-index region of the grating layer.

FIG. 3. Transmission measurement at normal incidence performed with abroadband source using an embodiment of one of the present devices thathas separate waveguide and grating layers.

FIGS. 4 and 5. Calculated TE and TM-polarization spectral response (FIG.4) of an embodiment of one of the present devices that is useful as afilter and has separate waveguide and grating layers (FIG. 5) with thefollowing parameters: Λ=0.51 μm, d₁=0.4 μm, d₂=0.18 μm, n_(H)=1.63,n_(L)=1.0, n₂=1.9, and n_(S)=1.45.

FIGS. 6 and 7. Calculated (FIG. 6) and measured (FIG. 7) spectral shiftof one embodiment of the present waveguide gratings on a planarsubstrate, before and after immersion in water. Physical parameters areas follows: grating period Λ=510 nm, fill factor f=0.5, n₂=2.0, d₂=200nm, d₁=300 nm, n_(H)=1.62, n_(L)=1.0 (air) and n_(L)=1.33 (water), TEpolarization.

FIG. 8. Test setup used to obtain transmission measurements for thepresent devices used as sensors.

FIG. 9. Schematic of a test setup to measure properties of light(spectrum, polarization, and/or power) from the present waveguidegratings.

FIG. 10. Single beam holographic setup using ultraviolet laser to recordgrating pattern on optical fiber endfaces coated with photosensitivepolymer.

FIG. 11. Raw transmission data measured for an embodiment of one of thepresent devices having separate waveguide and grating layers that arefabricated using Si3N4 and photoresist, with the following parameters:grating period Λ=510 nm, thickness of the photoresist grating layer,d₁=300 nm, thickness of the waveguide layer (Si3N4), d₂=200 nm, lowrefractive index of the grating layer, which is the same as therefractive index of the cover region (n_(C) of air), n_(L)=1.0, highrefractive index of the grating layer, n_(H)=1.62, refractive index ofthe waveguide layer (Si3N4), n₂=1.85, refractive index of the substrate(silica optical fiber), n_(F)=1.45.

FIGS. 12 and 13. Thickness sensing in water. TE polarization spectralresponse of an embodiment of the present devices useful as fiber endfacereflection filter (FIG. 13). The peak wavelength shifts from 749.6 nm to751.5 nm and 754.1 nm, as 20 nm and 40 nm of material are added,respectively. The physical parameters of the waveguide grating are asfollows (FIG. 12): grating period, Λ=454 nm, thickness, d=371 nm,refractive indices of the grating layer, n=2.55 (ZnSe) and n=1.33(water). The refractive index of the material to be detected is n=1.4.

FIGS. 14 and 15. Refractive index sensing in liquid. TE polarizationspectral response of an embodiment of the present devices useful asfiber endface reflection filter (FIG. 15). The peak wavelength shiftsfrom 749.6 nm to 752.2 nm and 754.8 nm, as the refractive index of thedetected liquid varies from 1.33 to 1.34 and 1.35, respectively. Thephysical parameters of the waveguide grating are as follows (FIG. 14):grating period, Λ=454 nm, thickness, d=371 nm, refractive indices of thegrating layer, n=2.55 (ZnSe) and n=1.33-1.35 (liquid being detected).

FIGS. 16 and 17. Thickness sensing in air. TE polarization spectralresponse of an embodiment of the present devices useful as fiber endfacereflection filter (FIG. 17). The peak wavelength shifts from 1.554 μm to1.564 μm and 1.575 μm, as 20 nm and 40 nm of material are added,respectively. The physical parameters of the waveguide grating are asfollows (FIG. 16): grating period, Λ=0.907 μm, thickness, d=1.1 μm,refractive indices of the grating layer, n=3.2 (Silicon) and n=1.0(air). The refractive index of the material to be detected is n=1.4.

FIGS. 18 and 19. Thickness sensing in air. TE polarization spectralresponse of an embodiment of the present devices useful as fiber endfacereflection filter (FIG. 19). Approximately 1 nm shift for 10 nm ofadhered material (n=1.4). The physical parameters of the waveguidegrating are as follows (FIG. 18): grating period Λ=0.349 μm, f=0.5,d₁=0.12 μm, d₂=0.15 μm, n_(H,1)=1.45 (SiO₂), n₂=2.0 (HfO₂),n_(L,1)=n_(C)=1.0, n_(S)=1.45.

FIGS. 20 and 21. Refractive index sensing in water. Approximately 3.1 nmshift for 0.01 change in refractive index (FIG. 21). The peak wavelengthshifts from 807.4 nm to 810.1 nm and 813.3 nm, as the refractive indexof the detected liquid varies from 1.34 to 1.35 and 1.36, respectively.Linewidth=0.8 nm. The physical parameters of the waveguide grating areas follows (FIG. 20): grating period Λ=0.530 μm, f=0.5, d=0.470 μm,n_(H)=2.0 (Si₃N₄), n_(S)=1.45, n_(L)=n_(C)=1.34, 1.35, and 1.36.

FIG. 22. Plot of peak wavelength shift for large dynamic range sensing.Response is linear and sensitivity is retained for a refractive indexrange from 1.3 to 1.7. Corresponds to structure described in FIG. 20.

FIG. 23. Scanning electron micrograph of 800 nm period photoresistgrating recorded on a multimode fiber endface 800 times magnification.

FIG. 24 (see Appendix). Flow chart of a genetic algorithm using rigorouscoupled-wave analysis for merit function evaluation [77]. The programuses the library PGAPACK [110] to perform specific genetic algorithmoperations such as mutation, crossover, selection, ranking, andgeneration of new chromosomes.

FIG. 25 (see Appendix). Crossover and mutation operations illustratedfor chromosomes composed of 6 genes encoded as real numbers. In the 3types of crossover operations shown here genes of the parent chromosomes(white and grey) are exchanged to yield new chromosomes. In the mutationoperation, one or more genes are randomly changed from one value toanother.

FIGS. 26A and 26B (see Appendix). Example of a diffractive structureconsisting of two gratings in two separate layers, with physicalparameters shown in FIG. 26A and corresponding chromosome represented inFIG. 26B. The chromosome is a candidate solution in the optimizationprocess. A set of chromosomes forms a population. The total populationof chromosomes at a given iteration is called a generation. In thiscase, the parameters to be optimized are the grating period Λ, thethicknesses d₁, d₂, refractive indices, n_(L,1), n_(H,1), n_(L,2),n_(H,2), and relative positions of the high-refractive index materialswithin a grating period, X_(L,1), X_(H,1), X_(L,2), and X_(H,2).

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Disclosed herein is a new GMR device that includes a waveguide having anend that has an endface and a waveguide grating fabricated on theendface. As defined above, waveguides include fibers such as optical,single-mode, multi-mode, polarization-maintaining, graded-index,step-index, nonlinear core (either with or without embedded electrodes),polymer, phototonic crystal waveguides and fibers, glass, crystal-core,and chalcogenide fibers; waveguides with shapes such as rectangular,elliptical and cylindrical; slab waveguides and ridge waveguides. Thewaveguide grating is made up of at least one waveguide layer and atleast one grating layer, and the grating and waveguide layers may be thesame layer. The layers, if separate, may be arranged in any suitablefashion with respect to each other and the waveguide. A source maypropagate an incident signal, such as a broad-spectrum signal, throughthe waveguide, the waveguide may guide the signal to the waveguidegrating, and the waveguide grating, depending on its design, may filterthe signal to reflect or transmit a desired spectral band of the signal.Used as a filter, characteristics such as center wavelength (thewavelength at which a peak or a notch is exhibited in the spectrum ofthe reflected or transmitted wave), linewidth (the width of the spectralpeak or notch) and sideband (reflectance or transmittance in thespectral region outside the peak or notch spectral region) are definedby certain waveguide-grating parameters, such as the periodic structureof the grating layer(s), the refractive indices of the layer(s) formingthe waveguide grating, the thicknesses of those layers, and the fillfactor of the grating layer(s). The present waveguide grating devicesprovide a new class of diffractive optical elements as a result of theGMR spectral filters resulting therefrom. Potential applications for thepresent devices include use as spectral filters for use in fiber opticsystems (such as communications), as sensors for high resolutionchemical or biochemical sensing, and as integrated polarized reflectorsfor fiber lasers.

The phrase guided-mode resonance (GMR) refers to a rapid variation inthe diffraction efficiency spectrum of waveguide gratings generally, andthose described herein. A resonance occurs when an incident wave from apropagated signal that may include more than one wave is phase matchedto a leaky guided mode allowed by a waveguide grating. Phase matchingmay be accomplished through a diffraction grating, which is inherentlypolarization sensitive. Resonances occurring in subwavelength waveguidegratings (i.e., waveguide gratings having a grating layer(s) with aperiod, Λ, less than the wavelength, λ, of the input wave admitting onlyzero-order propagating diffraction orders, where Λ<λ/n_(S), λ/n_(C)where λ/n_(S) and λ/n_(C) are the wavelengths in the substrate and coverregions respectively, [i.e. regions of propagation of the incident andemerging waves]; λ is the wavelength in vacuum, and n_(S) and n_(C) arethe refractive indices of the substrate and cover regions, respectively)allow complete energy exchange between the forward and backwardpropagating zero-order waves. In this case, all higher order diffractedwaves are evanescent. In fact, when these evanescent waves correspond towaveguide modes supportable by the WGG, the resonance occurs.

Considering a single layer WGG, for a resonance to occur, the averagerefractive index of the grating layer, n_(av), is required to be higherthan the refractive index of the surrounding cover and it is required tobe higher than the refractive index of the substrate. For a multi-layerstructure, one of the layers in the stack needs to meet thisrequirement. The average refractive index of the grating layer may becalculated using the following equation:n _(av) =[n _(L) ² +f(n _(H) ² −n _(L) ²)]^(1/2)

where n_(H) and n_(L) are the refractive indices of the high andlow-refractive index regions of the grating layer, and f is the fillfactor of the grating layer (i.e. the fraction of the grating periodoccupied by the high-refractive index material). The efficient energyexchange occurs within small ranges of at least one physical parameterof the device, such as the angle of incidence of the input wave orsignal, wavelength, thickness of the layers utilized, period of thegrating layer(s), and the refractive indices of the grating andwaveguide layers and surrounding adjacent media n_(f) and n_(c).

Integration of resonant WGGs with thin-film coatings may provide lowsidebands surrounding the resonance regime, achieving high-quality nearideal filter properties. Such filters are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,598,300 to Magnusson and S. S. Wang (1997) (hereinafter the '300patent), which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference inits entirety. Generic GMR filters and their many applications aredescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,680 issued to R. Magnusson and S. S.Wang.

Modeling of the Present Waveguide Grating Devices

Rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) [Gaylord and Moharam, 1985;Moharam, et al., 1995a; and Moharam, et al., 1995b], all three of whichare expressly incorporated herein by reference, is a numerical tool thatmay be used to accurately model the present waveguide grating devicesbased on the use of certain known parameters of the waveguide grating.“Modeling,” as used herein, means to determine the spectralcharacteristics, i.e., the fraction of the incident wave power that isreflected and transmitted through a waveguide grating device at anywavelength of interest. This includes determining the GMR spectrallocations, shape, and width of GMR peaks or notches, and reflectance andtransmittance in the sidebands (i.e. outside the resonance region). Fora rigorous analysis and development of these theories see Magnusson andWang U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,680, which is hereby expressly incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety, and [Wang and Magnusson, 1995],which is also hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. However, a simplified model employing waveguide theory isuseful to provide physical insight and approximate resonance locations.This theory is detailed in the '300 patent at col. 5, line 6 throughcol. 6, line 61 for multi-layer waveguide gratings. For a single-layerwaveguide grating, this theory is detailed in the '300 patent at col. 7,lines 7 through 38. The present waveguide gratings may be modeled in avariety of different manners. For example, GMR devices may be modeledusing a commercially available software such as Gsolver, from GratingSolver Development Company, which implements RCWA. In addition,waveguide gratings may be modeled using finite difference time domainanalysis programs such as TFDS, commercially available from ApolloPhotonics, or BEAMPROP FULLWAVE, commercially available from Rsoft.Waveguide gratings may also be suitably modeled using finite elementanalysis.

The present waveguide gratings formed from multiple layers may bemodeled using RCWA. In using such an analysis, one may assume that thegrating layer being analyzed possesses an infinite number of gratingperiods. In using such an analysis, one may also assume the incidentwave or waves are plane waves, and further, one may assume the incidenceof the plane waves is normal. FIG. 1 shows a two-layer TE polarizationGMR response resulting from an RCWA in which the foregoing assumptionswere made. FIG. 2 depicts a two-layer waveguide grating 10, which wasanalyzed to arrive at the response shown in FIG. 1. Waveguide grating 10may be part of a two-layer reflection filter (having waveguide layer 12and grating layer 14) designed for an ionic, self-assembled polymerwaveguide layer with a photoresist grating layer deposited on thepolymer waveguide layer.

Although the assumption that the number of grating periods is infinitemay be made in using RCWA to analyze the present waveguide gratings, thenumber of such grating periods is finite. However, in recent experimentsat microwave wavelengths, RCWA has been demonstrated to accuratelypredict the GMR spectral locations and lineshapes of finite-sizestructures [Tibuleac, et al., 2000]. Microwave experiments on GMRfilters indicate that finite-size grating layers with as few as twelveperiods may yield GMR notch filters with a decrease in the transmittancespectrum from ˜81% outside resonance to ˜2% at resonance. The foregoingGMR filters have, of course, been planar and not fabricated on the endof a waveguide.

Controlling lineshape parameters such as center wavelength, linewidth,and sideband response may be achieved by carefully selecting theparameters of a waveguide grating device. Low sideband responses (e.g.,FIG. 1) may be achieved by choosing the grating layer thickness to beone-fourth of the resonant wavelength. Filter linewidth is affected inpart by the strength of the guided-mode confinement and the couplingefficiency of the waveguide grating. As used herein, “mode confinement”means the ratio between the power contained in the core of a mode andthe power contained in the core and cladding of a mode. Lineshape may beadjusted by modifying the grating layer fill factor, the gratingmodulation, and the difference between the average refractive index ofthe grating layer and the refractive indices of the surrounding regionsor media. As used herein, “grating modulation” means the differencebetween the high and low refractive indices of the grating layer. Thefilter central wavelength is affected in part by the periodic structureof the grating layer (as used herein, “periodic structure of the gratinglayer” includes grating layer parameters such as grating period, shapeof the gratings, the dimension of the gratings, amplitude, andperiodicity of the gratings), the refractive indices of the gratinglayer, and the refractive index of the waveguide layer (or refractiveindices if more than one waveguide layer is utilized within thewaveguide grating). Additional parameters that may be manipulated toaffect lineshape include the relative spatial phases of incorporatedgratings, which may be shifted, and the periodic structures of anygrating layers, which may be chosen to be dual-line [Tibuleac, 1996]. Asused herein, “dual-line” refers to the presence of two peaks (ornotches) in the spectral reflectance (or transmittance) dependence.Since waveguide grating devices are polarization dependent in 1-D (i.e.,one-dimensional) grating layers, polarization insensitive devices may bedesigned by implementing crossed (i.e., 2-D) waveguide gratings.

The present waveguide grating devices may also be designed an inverseapproach if certain properties of the needed GMR device are known. Ifthe properties of the needed GMR device are known, these parameters mayserve as input parameters into a search and optimization algorithm suchas a genetic algorithm [Goldberg, 1989] employing RCWA to calculate thereflectance and transmittance spectra of the devices during theoptimization process. Such methods to design GMR filters have beenreported in references [Tibuleac, et al., 1997; Zuffada, et al., 1998;Zuffada, et al., 1999; Tibuleac, 1999]. The use of one such geneticalgorithm is disclosed in the Appendix hereto.

Biomedical/Chemical Sensing

A biosensor is an analytical device that integrates an immobilizedbiologically sensitive material, such as enzyme, antibody, DNA, cells,or organic molecules, with an electrochemical, piezoelectric, optical oracoustic transducer to convert a biochemical response into a signal thatcan be used for measurement, interpretation, or control. Accurate,real-time, direct measurement of biologically related substanceseliminates expensive and complex sample preparation that is required inex situ lab processing. Electrochemical and optical sensors are the mostwidely used and versatile biosensing methods [Collings and Caruso, 1997;Kersey, 1996]. Optical biosensors provide a fast, accurate, safe, androbust means of analyte detection. All fundamental characteristics oflight as it interacts with matter can be used in measurement, includingintensity, frequency, phase, and polarization changes. A major advantageof optical detection methods over other techniques is the ability toprobe surfaces and films in a non-destructive manner. In addition,optically based sensors are generic elements that can be used to sense awide variety of analytes that might not be possible with other methods,such as gases, proteins, various types of micro-organisms, andmetabolites such as glucose. The use of optical fibers in biosensingsystems allows a high degree of geometrical versatility, includingcomponent miniaturization, and continuous, real-time, remote monitoringof very small sample domains. Optical fiber sensors are convenientdevices that are free from electrical interference and are generallybiocompatible for in vivo testing. The ability to provide remote,continuous monitoring is a distinct advantage when testing hazardousmaterials, in vivo testing, or down-well environmental measurements.

Current fiber optic sensor technology includes fluorescence [Golden, etal., 1994; Abel, et al., 1996], total internal reflection fiber sensors[Bolin, et al., 1989], reflection intensity [Tugendhaft, et al., 1997;Jin, et al., 1997; Johns, et al., 1998], surface plasmon resonances[Jorgenson and Yee, 1993; Jung, 1997; Furlong, et al., 1996a; Slavik, etal., 1997b; Slavik, et al., 1997a; Slavik, et al., 1998; Homola andSlavik, 1996; De Maria, et al., 1993; Melendez, et al., 1997], and fiberbundle arrays utilizing fluorescent detection materials [Ferguson andWalt, 1997]. While fiber optic sensors are the focus here, there aremany other designs in the area of optical sensing. Capillary opticalsensors utilize fiber optic couplers and capillary tubes that arechemically modified on the inner surface. Optical absorbance orfluorescence is implemented as the unit of measure. Ellipsometry is usedto detect refractive index or thickness changes in biological sensinglayers. Sensors utilizing planar optical waveguides [Collings andCaruso, 1997; Melendez, et al., 1996; Sharma and Rogers, 1994] includetotal internal reflection fluorescence, attenuated total reflectance,reflectomeric interference spectroscopy, as well as thin film devicesincluding the resonant mirror developed by Cush, et al. [Cush, et al.,1993], grating couplers [Sychugov, et al., 1997], and Mach-Zender sensordevices [Luff, et al., 1998]. Fabrication of optical sensor elementsusing transparent sol-gel, can increase sensor sensitivity [Cunningham,1998]. The primary advantage of fiber optic sensing over other opticalconfigurations is the real-time, remote operation of the sensor.

Current Technology

The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a widely used optical detectionmethod that is highly sensitive to changes in the optical properties atthe sensor surface, such as refractive index or thickness. The termsurface plasmon (SP) is based upon an electromagnetic fieldcharge-density oscillation that can occur at the surface of a conductor.When this electromagnetic coupled mode of excitation travels along theinterface between a metal and another medium, it is referred to as asurface plasmon. These surface waves are bound to the metal-dielectricinterface, with an intensity maximum in the surface and exponentiallydecaying fields perpendicular to it. An SP mode is resonantly excited byTM polarized incident light if the wavevector of the incident light andthe surface plasmon wave are matched, as governed by Maxwell'sequations. At resonance, reflected light intensity from the metallicsurface goes through a minimum at a defined angle of incidence. Phasematching occurs by employing a metallized diffraction grating, or byusing total internal reflection from a high index material, such as inprism coupling or an evanescent field from a guided wave. Thepropagation constant of the plasmon depends upon the refractive index ofthe adjacent medium, which is within sensing distance of the surfaceplasmon field.

Conventional surface plasmon sensors include a prism or diffractiongrating that is used as the phase matching and transducer element.Commercial [Sethi, 1994] planar SPR sensors include PharmaciaBiosensor's BIAcore and BIAlite systems, and Texas Instrument's Spreetasystem [Melendez, et al., 1997; Furlong, et al., 1996b; Ouellette,1998]. Fiber optic SPR sensors developed by Jorgenson and Yee [Jorgensonand Yee, 1993], and more recently by Slavik, et al. [Slavik, et al.,1997b; Slavik, et al., 1997a; Slavik, et al., 1998] and Jung [Jung,1997] allow remote, real time monitoring. Commercially manufacturedfiber SPR sensors are available from Biacore. A sensor based upon SPwave excitation on the tip of an optical fiber was proposed by De Maria,et al. in 1993 [De Maria, et al., 1993].

A method for fabrication of fiber optic surface plasmon resonancesensors is described by Jorgenson and Yee, and Slavik, et al. Thisincludes removal of the fiber cladding over the sensing region to allowaccess to the evanescent field of a guided mode. Cladding removal isaccomplished by gluing the fiber in a curved slot on a silica block, andsubsequently polishing and lapping the cladding to obtain a proximity tothe core. The exposed region is covered with a thin layer of gold inorder to support an SP wave, with the sensing layer attached at theouter interface. If the two modes are closely phase matched, a guided TMmode in the fiber can excite an SP wave at the outer metal-sensing layerinterface, resulting in a detectable minimum in the transmitted lightintensity. The wavelength where this intensity minimum occurs is closelydependent on the refractive index of the medium adjacent to the metallicfilm (sensing layer). Variations in the sensing layer, such asrefractive index or thickness, can be detected by monitoring changes inthe output intensity. To attain maximum sensitivity, appropriate metallayer and cladding thicknesses must be chosen. Optimizing the sensorsensitivity by increasing metallic layer thickness and decreasing theremaining fiber cladding thickness results in a decrease of the dynamicrange of the sensor. To tune the refractive index operation range of theSPR fiber optic sensor, a thin tantalum pentoxide overlayer can bedeposited beneath the sensing layer.

Slavik details two modes of operation for the fiber optic SPR sensor[Slavik, et al., 1997a]. In the spectral mode, the output power ismonitored as a function of wavelength to indicate an SPR spectrallocation. A tunable laser or a white light source can be used in thisconfiguration. Experimentally achieved sensor resolutions operating inthe spectral mode are reported to be 1.6*10⁻⁵ RIU (refractive indexunits) for an index range of 1.3952-1.3973. This is based on aspectroscopic resolution of 0.1 nm, and does not account for thelineshape characteristics of the sensor response. In the more widelyreported amplitude mode, the output power is monitored at a fixedwavelength. The relative output intensity is detected as a refractiveindex or thickness change causes a shift towards or away from aresonance location. Small changes in the transmitted intensity aremeasured and calibrated to a specific refractive index or thicknesschange. Resolutions for the amplitude mode are reported as low as 9×10⁻⁶RIU for an index range of 1.4105-1.4163, assuming an optoelectronicsystem that can resolve changes in optical power to 1%. A particularintensity response provides two solutions for a change in refractiveindex or thickness; one going towards the resonance dip and one awayfrom it. The resolutions reported are based on an experimentallydetermined resonance shift of approximately 12 nm with a 80 nm linewidthfor a refractive index change from 1.3952 to 1.3973. To perform remote,real-time measurements with this sensor, an aluminum mirror must bedeposited on the fiber endface to redirect the output light.

Other fiber sensors include fluorescent excitation and detection in theevanescent field of an optical fiber. As the evanescent field extends tothe cladding sensing region, fluorophores coated on the outside of thefiber are excited. Depending on the biological material that is beingsensed, a particular wavelength of light indicating a biologicalrecognition can be captured by the fiber optic probe and analyzed usingspectroscopic detection elements. This requires very sensitive detectionequipment such as photomultiplier tubes since the captured signal isvery weak. Accuracy and repeatability is an inherent weakness for thisdevice. Furthermore, detection applications are limited by thebioselective agents available.

Advantages of the Present Waveguide Grating Devices Over CurrentTechnology

Comparison of biosensor performance is best accomplished through afigure of merit [Cunningham, 1998]. Device characterizations that can beincluded in a generic figure of merit include sensor sensitivity,resolution, and dynamic range. The sensitivity of a biosensor is definedas the measured response for a particular amount of material that isdetected. For example, a GMR resonance shift of 11 nm for a thicknesschange of 20 nm results in a sensitivity value of 0.55 nm shift per 1 nmmaterial added. However, the sensitivity value does not consider sensorlimitations; rather, it indicates the maximum achievable sensitivity tothe analyte being detected. Resolution of the sensor includes therealistic component limitations such as spectroscopic equipmentresolutions, power meter sensitivities, bioselective agent response, andlinewidth considerations. The lineshape response has a great impact onthe accuracy of spectroscopic sensors in distinguishing betweenwavelength shifts. For highest confidence limits, the resolution forresonant sensors can be defined by the linewidth (full width, halfmaximum power), assuming the equipment has a higher resolution. Forexample, the refractive index sensor depicted in FIG. 20 has a maximumresolution of 3*10⁻⁴ RIU, when considering only spectroscopic resolutionlimitations of 0.1 nm. However, the detected response is limited by thelinewidth of the device, which is 0.8 nm in this case. Under thiscriteria, the smallest RIU change that can be accurately detected withthis sensor is 4*10⁻³, although the sensitivity is higher. Bynormalizing the resonance shift with the linewidth, a realisticevaluation of a resonance sensor performance can be determined. Acomparison of sensor sensitivity, resolution and dynamic range isincluded below in Table 1. The dynamic range (or usable range) of asensor is defined as the range where discrimination between responsescan be detected. Materials used in fabrication and the sensing mediumgenerally limit this range. In addition, these three parameters aregenerally inter-related. For example, for SPR sensors, as theoperational range of refractive index values that can be detected isincreased, the sensor sensitivity decreases. available for detection inthe present devices. Accordingly, accuracy and reliability of thepresent devices is greatly enhanced over other sensors types, since eachpolarization can act as a reference for the other. In addition, it maybe possible to obtain actual refractive index and thickness values ofthe sensed medium since two measured values are obtained. In contrast tothat which may be achieved using the present devices, for sensors thatutilize only TM polarization, such as surface plasmon resonance (SPR)sensors, the refractive index of the sensed medium or the sensed layerthickness must be determined beforehand, since both parameters cannot bedetermined from the same measurement.

Current fiber optic sensors, including the SPR, require the sensingregion to be along the length of the fiber, which increases fabricationcomplexity and spatial sensing resolution. For the present devices,however, the sensing element is located on the waveguide endface, suchas the endface of a fiber, thus permitting highly-accurate,small-proximity sensing. Furthermore, waveguide sensor arrays, such asoptical fiber sensor arrays, may be readily implemented tosimultaneously detect a wide variety of analytes, such as DNA sequences.A calibration fiber may be integrated in a bundle of the present devicesto further increase accuracy for in vivo or remote measurement.

Current fiber optic array sensors utilize fluorescence indicators andare less sensitive than the present devices. Additionally, since thedeposition of dielectric thin films on optical fiber endfaces iswell-known in the art, the present devices are suitable for massproduction. Moreover, an array of the present devices may be fabricatedsimultaneously using standard thin film deposition methods well known inthe art such as dipping, sputtering, spin coating, thermal evaporation,electron-beam evaporation, molecular beam epitaxy, metal-organicchemical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, and liquid phaseepitaxy, and submicron grating fabrication technology such as contactprinting, and patterning techniques well known in the art such asholographic interferometry, photolithography, electron-beam lithography,and laser-beam lithography. Further still, other detection devices andtechniques, such as SPR sensors or fluorescent detection, may becombined with the present devices, which utilize the GMR effect, toincrease the flexibility of the present devices in a system for spectralfiltering.

TABLE 1 Comparison between the surface plasmon sensor and guided-moderesonance fiber sensor. Max. Max. Resolution FOM: Sensor Linewidth Max.(equipment Resolution Dynamic Sensor type Response Sensitivityresolution 0.1 nm) (w/linewidth) range SPR sensor 80 nm 6250 1.6 * 10⁻⁵RIU 1.3 * 10⁻² RIU 1.352–1.3973 [Slavik, et al., nm/RIU 1997a] 5.3 *10⁻⁵ RIU 1.6 * 10⁻² RIU not available 30 nm 1875 [Slavik, et al., nm/RIU1998] Fiber GMR 0.8 nm  310 3 * 10⁻⁴ RIU 2.6 * 10⁻³ RIU 1.34–1.36 RIUsensor (FIG. nm/RIU 20) 1.7 nm  330 3 * 10⁻⁴ RIU 5.1 * 10⁻³ RIU 1.3–1.7RIU nm/RIU

The present devices (e.g., the fiber GMR sensors in Table 1) can behighly sensitive to the parameters of the waveguide gratings. Thus, thegrating period, filling factor, number of layers, layer thicknesses, andrefractive indices may be tailored for a specific waveguide gratingdevice sensitivity and operational dynamic range. This flexibilityallows the resonance wavelength, linewidth, and degree of sensitivity tobe tailored for specific applications. By using a genetic algorithmprogram to design the present devices, specific design criteria such assensing range or sensitivity may be realized. In general, the presentwaveguide grating devices have a much higher operational sensing rangeand greater sensor sensitivity than other fiber optic sensors. Inaddition, by utilizing biologically sensitive material, such asbiopolymers to fabricate the waveguide grating, increased waveguidegrating sensitivity may be achieved.

Low loss dielectric materials may be used as either the grating layer orthe waveguide layer of the present devices, and absorption losses arenot a physical limitation of the present devices. Linewidths for thepresent devices may be typically less than 5 nm, with well-definedresonance shapes that may provide accurate, well-defined measurements.Two separate resonance locations for TE and TM polarizations are

Applications for the present devices and systems include use as fiberoptic sensors for chemical/biochemical measurement in widespreadapplications that range from implantable devices used for continuous invivo measurement to ex vivo analysis in a laboratory. Additionally, infiber optic communications, the present device may be used to reject ortransmit signals for multiplexing/demultiplexing of multiple wavelengthchannel systems. It is also to be understood that the present waveguidegrating devices include multiple waveguides having ends with endfaces,on each of which waveguide gratings may be fabricated. Thus, the presentdevices may be used as sensors having multiple waveguides with waveguidegratings fabricated on the respective ends thereof. The present devicealso includes a waveguide, such as an optical fiber, having an end withan endface on which a waveguide grating is fabricated, which waveguideis adjacent to a second waveguide, such as an optical fiber, having anend with an endface onto which a waveguide grating may be fabricated.The waveguide gratings on the two waveguides may be oriented such that asignal propagated through the first waveguide may be reflected at leastin part after contacting the first waveguide grating such that it thencontacts the waveguide grating of the second waveguide and, thereafter,may be reflected by the second waveguide grating such that the signal isthen transmitted through the second waveguide in a direction moving awayfrom the second waveguide grating. In such an embodiment, the presentdevice is a dual fiber sensor. Some applications include:

Feedback Control in Artificial Organs;

Dynamic intravascular blood gas sensor used to detect oxygen saturationof hemochromes (hemoglobin, myoglobin) and carbon dioxide levels inmajor blood vessels or cardiac chambers. Specifically, for the detectionof cardiac shunts during catheterization, to estimate cardiac outputfrom arterio-venous oxygen difference, or for use in the care of fetusesto determine oxygen saturation data. Inadequate blood oxygen levels andcarbon dioxide elimination are indications of respiratory and metabolicimbalances. By continuous, real-time monitoring of these levels in theblood, dynamic corrections to patient oxygen ventilation orpharmacological agents can be administered;

Glucose sensor used to detect blood/tissue glucose levels. Qualitativemeasurement based on refractive index differences correlated to glucoseconcentration levels can be used. A more accurate quantitativemeasurement is made by employing bioselective agents such as glucoseoxidase. Glucose oxidase changes its chemical properties (and refractiveindex) depending on the concentration of glucose available in thedetection sample;

pH sensor used to monitor blood/tissue acidity levels can be implementedby employing a pH sensitive biosensitive layer on the fiber endface GMRdevice that changes refractive index for different blood acidity levels;

Tumor sensors to assist in surgery for tumor removal based on anincrease in refractive index from the cancer cells; and

Brain tissue sensors to locate neuro structures for guidance duringneurosurgery. As the refractive indices of tissues vary in the gray andwhite matter of the brain, the present device may act as a sensor todistinguish between the two types of tissues. For similar reasons, thepresent devices may also be used as sensors for detecting brain tumorsor lesions, etc.

Fuel tank sensor to detect the level of a liquid in a container, or thedensity or composition of gases inside a fuel container based on changesin the refractive index of the medium.

Oil/fuel quality sensor to detect changes in the chemical propertiesthat induce refractive index changes in the oil or fuel. For example,one of the present devices could be used as a real-time sensor in anautomobile that detects when engine oil needs replacement.

Setup for Measuring Spectral Reflectance from Present Devices

As explained herein and in more detail in the Examples below (e.g.,Example 3), the present devices are suitable candidates for use asspectroscopic sensing elements (i.e., filters) due at least in part tothe narrow linewidths and high sensitivities of the guided-moderesonance peaks to variations in the physical parameters of the presentdevices (layer thicknesses, refractive indices, grating fill factor, andsubstrate and cover refractive indices). Thus, the present devices maybe designed for a specific sensitivity, resolution, and operationaldynamic range. This flexibility allows the resonance wavelength,linewidth, and degree of sensitivity to be tailored for specificapplications. A sensor may be optimized to enhance sensitivity tospecific parameters, such as refractive index and/or thickness. Sincedielectric materials may be used in the fabrication of the presentdevices, many design configurations are available. In FIG. 9, oneembodiment of a setup for use in monitoring the reflectance from one ofthe present devices is depicted. In general, the setup may be used tomeasure properties of light (spectrum, polarization, and/or power)reflected from the present devices The setup includes an input lightsource 30, a 2×2 optical coupler 20, and a detection unit that is notillustrated. Input light source 30 enters 2×2 coupler 20 at input port22, and coupler 20 divides the power of light incident from input port22 between output ports 26 and 28. As depicted in FIG. 9, output port 26is coupled to one of the present devices, which includes a waveguide 16(such as a fiber) on which waveguide grating 10 is disposed. Thereflected power 34 from the present device is equally split betweeninput port 22 and port 24. Port 24 is coupled to a detection unit, whichmeasures the properties of light reflected from the present device. Tomonitor the intensity of the reflected signal 36 using a fixedwavelength laser source, the detection unit may be an optical powermeter, such as a Newport 835 optical power meter. Alternatively, tomonitor spectral shifts of the GMR resonance, the detection unit may bean optical spectrum analyzer (such as an Anritsu MS9001B), or amonochromator (Burleigh model) and an optical power meter. Input lightsource 30 may be broadband (such as an LED or white light source), or atunable laser (such as Ti:Sapphire or a semiconductor type). To detectthe polarization state of the reflected signal 36, an optical polarizershould be placed so that it receives reflected signal 36 prior to thedetection unit. The setup depicted in FIG. 9 permits various mediumparameters to be monitored remotely and in real-time.

The present device includes multiple sensors, at least one of which is awaveguide having an end with an endface on which a waveguide grating isfabricated, bundled in an array, such that many types of sensors may besimultaneously utilized. A potential application is to integrate thistype of bundled array with an intravenous (IV) tube that is insertedinto a patient's artery. By integrating the biosensor array into thepolymer shunt used for insertion of the IV tube, real time, accurate,continuous monitoring of blood gases, glucose and pH levels can beaccomplished without loss of patient blood. This is particularly usefulfor monitoring changes in blood gas/glucose levels during surgery, orcritically ill patients in intensive care units.

The following examples are included to demonstrate specific embodimentsof the invention. Example 1, however, does not include a description ofan embodiment of the present devices. Instead, it includes a descriptionof fabricating a diffractive grating (i.e., a grating layer) on a fiberendface. As the diffractive grating is not also a waveguide layer, it isnot a waveguide grating. However, the description accompanying Example 1may be useful in creating the present devices because the waveguidegratings of the present devices require a grating layer. Further, werethe photoresist in Example 1 fabricated on a fiber having a slightlylower refracting index, the photoresist could have served as both awaveguide layer and a grating layer, thereby forming a waveguidegrating. It should be appreciated by those of skill in the art that thetechniques disclosed in the examples that follow represent techniquesdiscovered by the inventors to function well in the practice of theinvention, and thus can be considered to constitute exemplary modes forits practice. However, those of skill in the art should, in light of thepresent disclosure, appreciate that many changes can be made in thespecific embodiments which are disclosed and still obtain a like orsimilar result without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. See also [Wawro, 1999] for information identical or similarto the following Examples.

EXAMPLE 1

Example 1 describes a procedure that was undertaken to optimize themanner of fabricating a diffractive grating, but not a waveguidegrating, on the endface of a fiber. A high quality cleaving tool wasused to obtain flat, optical quality endfaces on both single-mode andmultimode fibers. After cleaving, the fibers were visually inspectedwith an optical microscope to determine endface quality. The fibers werecleaned by immersion in an ultrasonic bath of heated acetone for 30minutes, briefly dipped in optical grade methanol, and dried withfiltered nitrogen gas.

The fabrication procedure was initially optimized by recording efficientsubmicron diffractive structures on the optical fiber endfaces. Thinfilms of UV-sensitive Shipley 1805 photoresist (PR) were deposited onthe cleaved multimode and single-mode fiber endfaces by a dippingprocess. It was found that a dilution of 3 parts PR to 5 parts Shipleyphotoresist thinner yielded an approximate PR thickness of 300 nm. Thisthickness value was obtained from a test substrate that was dipped inthe thinned solution, after which the thickness of the PR layer wasmeasured via ellipsometery. The PR/thinner mixture was filtered beforedeposition with a glass fiber 0.2 μm particulate filter. No significantcurvature of the PR layered on the fiber endfaces was observed inscanning electron microscope pictures for photoresist dilutions ofgreater than 1:1. After the dipping process, the fibers were soft bakedin an oven at 90° C. for approximately 30 minutes. The soft bakeimproved PR adhesion and response linearity during exposure.

Diffraction gratings with submicron periods were recorded in the PRlayers using holographic interferometry with an UV Argon ion laser(λ=365 nm) as illustrated in FIG. 10. An exposure power of approximately110 μW/cm² for 22 seconds was required. The gratings were developed forapproximately 20 seconds using Shipley MF-321 developer, resulting in asurface relief photoresist grating.

The grating diffraction efficiency was tested by propagating laser lightinto the uncoated end of the fiber, and measuring the power output ofthe transmitted diffraction orders on the end with the diffractiongrating. Light from each diffracted order was collimated with a lens andmeasured individually with an optical power detector head to obtainaccurate intensity measurements. The intensity output of the transmitteddiffracted orders was measured after coupling a white light source(halogen lamp) into an optical fiber with a 1.2 μm period photoresistgrating recorded on its endface. An HeNe laser light (λ=633 nm) was alsopropagated into the optical fiber. A diffraction grating with 800 nmperiod on an optical fiber endface with a 100 μm core diameter was alsoevaluated, and is illustrated in FIG. 23. This device produced ±1diffracted orders containing ˜50% of the total output power when testedwith a HeNe laser (λ=633 nm). In addition, gratings with a period of 530nm were recorded on optical fiber endfaces with 6.7 μm core diameters.The ±1 transmitted diffraction orders were measured to contain ˜10% ofthe total power coupled out of the fiber at a wavelength of 442 nm (HeCdlaser).

EXAMPLE 2 Fabrication of Waveguide Gratings on Endfaces of Waveguides

In this example, waveguide gratings were fabricated on the endfaces ofoptical fibers. Once the ends of the fibers were cleaved to formendfaces and cleaned, deposition of dielectric thin-films was requiredto create a waveguide grating structure. In this example, thin films ofSi₃N₄ were deposited by sputtering on the clean, uncoated optical fiberendfaces. Silicon nitride is a hard, low loss dielectric material thathas a relatively high refractive index (n=2.0). This commonly-usedcoating can also be patterned by etching in a reactive ion etching (RIE)chamber using standard fluorocarbon etchant gases, such as CF₄ or CHF₃.An RF-powered sputter machine that housed a single, three-inch Si₃N₄target was used to deposit the nitride films. Inert argon gas was usedas the primary sputter gas, with a small amount (˜5%) of N₂ included toprevent nitrogen depletion of the Si₃N₄ target. Nitrogen depletionresults in an Si-rich film, which is typically quite lossy. The fiberswere mounted in the chamber along with a test substrate made from fusedsilica to monitor the thickness of the deposited nitride films. Thethickness, refractive index, absorption, index grading, and surfaceroughness of the deposited films were measured using a Woollam V-Vasespectroscopic ellipsometer.

Next, the test substrate was spin coated with a 300 nm thick layer of PRand a 510 nm grating was recorded on its surface. Using thespectroscopic ellipsometer, the test waveguide grating structure wassubjected to normal incidence transmission measurements, the results ofwhich are indicated in FIG. 3. The parameters of the test waveguidegrating structure that led to the results depicted in FIG. 3 are showntherein. The ellipsometer testing source is a fiber coupled Xenon arclamp monochrometer with a specified resolution of 0.1 nm.

EXAMPLE 3

FIG. 4 depicts calculated TE and TM polarization spectral responses of awaveguide grating with the cross section shown in FIG. 5, having thefollowing parameters: grating period, Λ, is 0.51 μm; thickness, d₁, is0.4 μm; thickness, d₂, is 0.18 μm; refractive index, n_(H), is 1.63;refractive index, n_(L), is 1.0; refractive index, n₂, is 1.9; andrefractive index, n_(S), is 1.45. The calculations leading to theresults depicted in FIG. 4 were performed with rigorous coupled-waveanalysis, assuming plane waves at normal incidence on a structure withan infinite number of grating periods.

Turning now to the details of this experiment, ˜200 nm layers of Si₃N₄were sputter deposited on multimode optical fiber endfaces with 100 μmcore diameters. PR gratings with 510 nm periods were subsequentlyrecorded to yield waveguide grating devices. The parameters of thedevices are as follows: grating period, L, is 510 nm; PR thickness, d₁,is 300 nm; Si₃N₄ thickness, d₂, is 200 nm; refractive index, n_(L), is1.0; refractive index, n_(H), is 1.85; Si₃N₄ refractive index, n₂, is1.85; fiber refractive index, n_(s), is 1.45.

Testing was performed using the setup depicted in FIG. 8. Spectralmeasurements made with tunable Ti:Sapphire laser (λ=730-900 nm)indicated GMR notches of ˜18% in the transmitted power, which wasmeasured at the output of the optical fiber. FIG. 11 illustrates themeasured results without normalization. The low efficiency is partiallyattributed to the polarization sensitivity of the GMR effect, with TEand TM peaks occurring at different wavelengths and the polarizationscrambling induced by propagation through the optical fiber. However,similar devices that are polarization independent may be achieved withtwo-dimensional gratings. Scattering due to imperfect fiber cleaves andrough silicon nitride films are also contributing factors to a decreasein GMR efficiency. Furthermore, it is assumed for modeling purposes thatthe wavefronts are essentially planar in nature due to the large corediameter. More accurate modeling may be required to account for thefinite 2-D confinement of the incident beam, as well as the finiteperiodic structure on the fiber endface. It is contemplated that finiteelement or finite difference modeling would be well-suited for thispurpose.

Spectroscopic Sensor Designs

The present waveguide grating devices are well-suited for use asspectroscopic filters due to the sensitivity of the devices to changesin parameters such as the thicknesses of the grating layer or layers andthe waveguide layer or layers, the refractive indices of the same, thegrating fill factor, and the substrate and cover refractive indices.Factors in addition to the parameters discussed above that may affectthe configuration of a given waveguide grating device include thesources available for testing and the required sensor resolution. Ingeneral, waveguide gratings made of a single layer (i.e., waveguidegratings in which the at least one waveguide layer and the at least onegrating layer are the same layer) are more sensitive to changes in theparameters discusses above than are waveguide gratings made of multiplelayers, because the mode confinement of the single-layer waveguidegrating is greater or heightened as compared to the mode confinement ofmulti-layer waveguide gratings.

FIGS. 12-22 illustrate examples of the present waveguide grating devicesthat may be used as filters/sensors for sensing changes in theparameters of the refractive index and the thickness of material thatmay contact the waveguide grating. The devices may be placed andutilized in fluid media including water and air.

EXAMPLE 4 Sensor Placed in Aqueous Media and Used to Sense Changes inThickness of Material Deposited on Waveguide Grating

FIG. 12 illustrates certain parameters of both a sensor designed todetect changes in the thickness parameter of a material in an aqueousmedia, and a material contacted by the sensor. The waveguide grating ismade of ZnSe and is fabricated on an endface of the waveguide, which, inthis embodiment, is an optical fiber. Grating period, Λ, is 454 nm,thickness, d, of the waveguide grating is 371 nm, refractive index,n_(wg), of the waveguide grating is 2.55, and refractive index,n_(water), of water is 1.33. The refractive index of the material to bedetected is 1.4. Material is a high index material can be deposited onwaveguide grating by plasma etching. The above refractive index andthickness values were chosen to model typical bioselective agents, suchas antigen/antibody attachments. FIG. 13 illustrates the TE polarizationspectral response of the waveguide grating device illustrated in FIG. 12to material and to changes in the thickness of material. As shown, aresonance shift of 1.9 nm was determined as 20 nm of material was addedto the thickness of waveguide grating, and a 2.6 nm resonance shift wasdetermined as a total of 40 nm of material was added to the thickness ofwaveguide grating as the peak wavelength shifted from 749.6 nm, to 751.5nm, to 754.1 nm, respectively. In this case, the degree of resonantcentral wavelength shift is contributed to two parameter changes: thechange in waveguide grating thickness that resulted from adding materialto the waveguide grating, and a change in grating layer (which is alsothe waveguide grating) fill factor. The former parameter may contributesignificantly to the resonance shift for fill factor values other than0.5 [Tibuleac, 1996].

EXAMPLE 5 Sensor Placed in Liquid Media and Used to Sense Changes inRefractive Index of Liquid

Turning now to FIGS. 14 and 15, the above highly flexible sensorconfiguration may also be used to detect changes in the refractive indexof a media into which it may be placed. The media was liquid, and therefractive index of the liquid changed from 1.33 to 1.35. Accordingly,FIG. 15 illustrates the TE polarization spectral response of thewaveguide grating device illustrated in FIG. 14 to the changes in therefractive index of the liquid. As shown in FIG. 15, the peak wavelengthshifted from 749.6 nm to 752.2 nm and 754.8 nm as the refractive indexof the detected liquid varied from 1.33 to 1.34 and 1.35, respectively.

EXAMPLE 6 Sensor Placed in Liquid Media, Air, and Used to Sense Changesin Thickness of Material Deposited on Waveguide Grating

In FIGS. 16 and 17, a waveguide grating device is shown that may beplaced in a media of air. The device may be contacted by a material,which in this case, was deposited on waveguide grating. The device shownwas used as a sensor to detect changes in the thickness of material.FIG. 16 illustrates the parameters of the device and material. Waveguidegrating is made of Si and is fabricated on endface of waveguide which,in this embodiment, is an optical fiber. Grating period, Λ, is 0.907 μm,thickness, d, of waveguide grating is 1.1 μm, refractive index, n_(wg),of waveguide grating is 3.2, and refractive index, n_(air), of air is1.0. The refractive index, n_(material), of the material to be detectedis 1.4. FIG. 17 illustrates the TE polarization spectral response of thewaveguide grating device illustrated in FIG. 16 to material and tochanges in the thickness of material. As shown in FIG. 17, the peakwavelength shifted from 1.554 μm to 1.564 μm and 1.575 μm, as 20 nm and40 nm of material were added, respectively. Due to the higher indexmodulation in this sensor design, a resonance shift of 10 nm per 20 nmchange in thickness is available for sensing. The incident wavelengthwas in the range of 1.55 μm, which corresponds to tunable laser diodewavelengths.

EXAMPLE 7 Sensor Placed in Liquid Media, Air, and Used to Sense Changesin Thickness of Material Deposited on Double-Layer Waveguide Grating

A waveguide grating device with a double-layer waveguide grating isdepicted in FIG. 18. The depicted design is useful for thickness sensingin air using a visible incident light source. FIG. 18 illustratescertain parameters of both the device and the material deposited on thewaveguide grating of the device. The waveguide grating is composed of agrating layer made of SiO₂ in contact with a waveguide layer made of aHfO₂, which is fabricated on endface of waveguide. Grating period, Λ, is0.349 μm, fill factor, f, of grating layer is 0.5, thickness, d₁, ofgrating layer is 0.12 μm, thickness, d₂, of waveguide layer is 0.15 μm,refractive index, n_(H,1), of grating layer is 1.45, refractive index,n₂, of waveguide layer is 2.0, refractive index, n_(L,1), is 1.0, as isrefractive index, n_(C), and refractive index, n_(S), is 1.45. FIG. 19illustrates the TE polarization spectral response of the waveguidegrating device illustrated in FIG. 18 to material and to changes in thethickness of material. As shown, a resonance shift of approximately 1 nmwas determined for each 20 nm of material added to the thickness ofgrating layer.

EXAMPLE 8 Sensor Placed in Liquid Media and Used to Sense Changes inRefractive Index of Liquid

A waveguide grating device with a highly sensitive single-layerwaveguide grating is depicted in FIG. 20. The depicted design is usefulfor refractive index sensing in liquid. This sensor was fabricated usingSi₃N₄ as the waveguide grating and may be used to detect small or largechanges in the refractive index of a liquid. FIG. 20 illustrates certainparameters of the device. Waveguide grating is made of Si₃N₄ which isfabricated on endface of waveguide. Grating period, Λ, is 0.530 μm, fillfactor, f, of waveguide grating is 0.5, thickness, d, of waveguidegrating— is 0.470 μm, refractive index, n_(H), of the waveguide gratingis 2.0, and refractive index, n_(S), of the substrate is 1.45.Refractive index, n_(L), of the liquid being sensed is the same asrefractive index, n_(C), of cover region, both of which are determinedto range from 1.34 to 1.36. FIG. 21 illustrates the TE polarizationspectral response of the waveguide grating device illustrated in FIG. 20to liquid and to changes in the refractive index of material. As shown,a resonance shift of approximately 3.1 nm was determined for a change inrefractive index of liquid of 0.01. The peak wavelength shifted from807.4 nm to 810.1 nm and 813.3 nm, as the refractive index of thedetected liquid varied from 1.34 to 1.35 and 1.36, respectively. Alsoshown in FIG. 21, the linewidth is 0.8 nm.

FIG. 22 illustrates the extremely large dynamic range and linearresponse available for the sensor design depicted in FIG. 20. FIG. 22 isa plot of the reflectance peak wavelength shift that occurred as therefractive index of the detected liquid increased over a large range ofrefractive index values. The response depicted in FIG. 22 is relativelylinear and sensitivity may be maintained for a refractive index rangefrom 1.3 to 1.7. As illustrated by these figures, high sensitivity ismaintained for both refractive index ranges, making this design a veryattractive and flexible sensor design.

All of the compositions and/or methods and/or apparatus disclosed andclaimed herein may be made and executed without undue experimentation inlight of the present disclosure. For example, techniques associated withpreparing the endfaces of the present waveguides such as cleaving andpolishing are known in the art. Techniques associated with fabricating,including dipping and spin coating, heating, and etching, and techniquesassociated with depositing, including sputtering, thermal evaporation,electron-beam evaporation, molecular beam epitaxy, metal-organicchemical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition and liquid phaseepitaxy, are known in the art. Techniques associated with patterning,including holographic interferometry, photolithography, electron-beamlithography, laser-beam lithography, and contact printing, are known inthe art.

While the compositions and methods of this invention have been describedin terms of specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skillin the art that variations may be applied to the compositions and/ormethods and/or apparatus and in the steps or in the sequence of steps ofthe method described herein without departing from the concept, spiritand scope of the invention. For example, it is contemplated thatwaveguide gratings may be fabricated on graded index lenses.Additionally, the waveguide gratings of the present devices may befabricated on the endfaces of the waveguides by directly recording thegrating pattern into a dielectric material such as glass, for example.In such an embodiment, a photosensitive polymer for patterning oretching the grating pattern into the dielectric would not be used. Suchfabrication may be realized through, for example, stresses that may beinduced by illumination of the dielectric with a laser or an electronbeam. For example, chalcogenide glass forms a surface relief grating ifexposed to a laser interference pattern. Additionally, the presentwaveguide gratings may be fabricated on electro-optic waveguides. Forexample, an electro-optic fiber (such as one commercially available fromSentel Technologies) fabricated from a nonlinear dye-doped polymerhaving electrodes embedded around the fiber core may be prepared asdescribed above to have an endface on which a waveguide grating may befabricated. Since the refractive index of the core of such a fiberchanges upon the application of a voltage, the resonance transmission orreflection peak may change depending on the refractive index of thecore. In such an embodiment, the effect just described may be useful incalibrating the device or tuning it to a specific wavelength band(tunable filter). More specifically, it will be apparent that certainagents that are both chemically and physiologically related may besubstituted for the agents described herein, while the same or similarresults would be achieved. For example, dielectric materials from whichthe grating and waveguide layers of the present devices may be madeinclude nonlinear dielectric materials. For example, polymers thatincorporate nonlinear materials (for second order or third ordernonlinear effects) or semiconductor materials having nonlinear materialstherein may be utilized for the present layers. Consequently, presentdevices having waveguide gratings with such nonlinear materials may beused as wavelength converters (second harmonic generation). All suchsimilar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in theart are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and concept of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

REFERENCES

The following references, to the extent that they provide exemplaryprocedural or other details supplementary to those set forth herein, arespecifically incorporated herein by reference.

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APPENDIX

Principles of Genetic Algorithm Search and Optimization

An important characteristic feature of genetic algorithms is that theyoperate on a coding (e.g., a binary coding) of the parameters ratherthan on the parameters themselves [77,104-108]. Thus, the first task ofa genetic algorithm is to generate a set of random numbers in aparticular encoding that corresponds to the variables of the problem.Each variable is called a “gene” or “allele” and represents a particularfeature or character such as, for instance, the thickness or refractiveindex of a layer in a diffractive optics problem. By combining severalgenes one obtains a string called a “chromosome,” which represents acandidate solution. For example, in a homogeneous-layer thin-filmoptimization procedure a chromosome would be composed of the thicknessesand the refractive indices of all the layers in a structure. Many suchcandidate solutions are generated simultaneously by a genetic algorithm.Together they form a “population,” and successive populations generatedby the genetic algorithm are referred to as “generations.”

There are many implementations of genetic algorithms, but they all havein common the basic operators of selection, crossover, and mutation[77,104-108]. All these operators are applied on the population of ageneration to create the next generation. A typical flow chart for agenetic algorithm optimization procedure is presented in FIG. 24. Aninitial population is generated randomly with each gene spanning itsallowed range of values. The domain can be discrete for some genes andcontinuous for others, the only restriction consisting in the locationsof the genes in the chromosome, which must remain the same for allchromosomes. A merit (sometimes referred to as cost, fitness, orresidual) function is calculated for each chromosome. This meritfunction is problem specific and the success of the optimizationprocedure depends largely on the choice of the merit function. Thechromosomes are ranked in terms of their performance evaluated by themerit function. Successive generations are then created by retaining apart of the chromosomes from one generation to the next and by formingnew chromosomes through recombination of the best chromosomes in the oldpopulation. The greater the fitness value of a chromosome, the morelikely it is to participate in the recombination process. Somealgorithms retain a fixed number of chromosomes [110] while others aremore problem-specific and retain all chromosomes with fitness betterthan a user-defined value [111].

The recombination process consists of applying either or both crossoverand mutation operators. In the crossover operation, two chromosomesexchange portions of their encoded representation. The three types ofcrossover mechanisms encountered in genetic algorithms are illustratedin FIG. 25 [112]. A single-point crossover is realized by choosing apoint in the chromosome chains at random and exchanging the data to theright of this point between the parent chromosomes. In the two-pointcrossover the data between two randomly selected points is swapped whilein the multiple-point crossover data is exchanged at random between thetwo parent chromosomes. Higher ranked strings will be more likely toparticipate in the crossover and thus form new chromosomes.

The crossover operation is a random but structured information exchangebetween chromosomes and represents the essential tool in local searches,(i.e., in exploring points within the hyperplanes already represented inthe population) [105]. However, crossover alone would produceconvergence in local extrema and, to explore other points in space andavoid “premature convergence,” the mutation operator is introduced inthe genetic algorithm.

A mutation is the random change of a gene from one value to another.Mutation is carried out with a user-defined probability and according tothe statistical rules implemented in the genetic algorithm program.Mutation has a very important role in the search process ensuringvariability in the population and hence, avoiding the entrapment of thealgorithm in local extrema of the merit function.

The operators of selection, crossover and mutation are independent ofthe application, and only the merit function contains domain-specificknowledge. Another operator utilized in some genetic algorithms todiversify the search is the restarting operator. After a number ofgenerations the best string is retained while all the others arediscarded, and the whole population is reseeded as mutant variations ofthe best string. For the same purpose of avoiding premature convergence,other genetic operators introduce a random disturbance in everychromosome of a population after a number of generations or when allchromosomes have reached the same set of genes.

The genetic algorithm ends after a user-determined fixed number ofiterations, when the merit function has reached an extremum that isclose enough to the desired value, or when all chromosomes in apopulation have merit functions within a small enough range.

Genetic Algorithm Program for Midtilayer Waveguide Gratings

Program Description

A genetic algorithm program has been developed for optimization ofdiffractive optics structures with multiple homogeneous and gratinglayers and incident TE polarized plane waves [65,71,77]. The programemploys rigorous coupled-wave analysis for calculation of the reflectedand transmitted diffraction efficiencies [84-86] and, hence, forevaluation of the merit function for the generated structures. Thesoftware library PGAPack [110] performs specific genetic algorithmoperations (chromosome generation, ranking, selection, crossover,mutation, etc.)

The algorithm seeks to find the physical parameters of the diffractivestructure that generates the spectral dependence of the zero-orderreflected (or transmitted) diffraction efficiency provided by the userin a reference data file. Alternatively, the optimization can beperformed for the angular dependence of the diffraction efficiency andat a fixed wavelength of the incident light. The physical parameters tobe found in the optimization process are the grating period, therefractive indices, and the thicknesses of the layers, the fill factors,and relative spatial phase shifts of the gratings. The refractiveindices of the cover and substrate, the angle of incidence (or thewavelength for angular dependence optimization), the maximum number oflayers, and the minimum and maximum values for the thicknesses, fillfactors, and grating period are required as input parameters to theprogram. The refractive indices of the candidate solutions are selectedfrom a list of discrete values supplied by the user in a separate inputfile. All other physical parameters (grating period, fill factors,thicknesses) are allowed to vary continuously within the rangesestablished by the user. Therefore, the program seeks the minimum of themerit function in a mixed discrete and continuous parameter space. Thisis a practical approach since in fabrication of diffractive opticalstructures only a limited number of materials can be used in a givenspectral range while the thicknesses, fill factors, and the gratingperiod can be varied continuously within a range, and within theaccuracy limitations of the equipment. In some applications one or moreof the physical parameters may be fixed due to either fabricationconstraints (e.g., fill factor of the grating equal to 0.5) or userknowledge about the physics of the problem (e.g., known grating periodfor center wavelength of resonance filters). This feature is included inthe program and will expedite the search procedure by reducing thedimension of the parameter space. A priori information can also simplifythe search procedure by reducing the range over which a parameter canvary during optimization, thereby reducing the total number of points inthe parameter space.

The physical parameters of the diffractive structure can be encoded asbinary, binary Gray, or real numbers [110]. For binary and binary Grayrepresentations of real and integer numbers, the user must specify thenumber of bits for encoding the thicknesses, the grating period, thefill factors, and the refractive indices. The number of bits allocatedfor each variable determines the accuracy of the representation of realnumbers. Increasing the accuracy allows a better solution to be foundbut at the same time increases the total number of points in theparameter space decreasing the convergence. The binary and the binaryGray encodings allow the genetic algorithm to access and operate onindividual bits of a gene, instead of the gene as a whole as in the realencoding [110]. For instance, a single-point crossover operation maytake place with the crossover point in the middle of a gene in thebinary encodings but only between genes in the real encoding. The Graybinary encoding differs from the binary encoding in that consecutiveinteger numbers differ by only one bit. This difference inducesdifferent paths in the genetic algorithm optimization procedure. Forinstance, mutation of one bit in a gene produces an incremental changein the value of the corresponding physical parameter if it isrepresented in Gray code, but may lead to a large variation in the caseof binary encoding.

The program starts by randomly generating a population of chromosomes inthe specified encoding and range of values for each variable. As anexample, FIG. 26B shows the chromosome of a double-layer grating withits genes corresponding to the physical parameters of the structureillustrated in FIG. 26A [65,7 1]. The chromosome has (5N_(L)+1) geneswhere N_(L) is the number of layers of the diffractive structure. Eachlayer is assumed to be a grating with the same period Λ, but withdifferent refractive indices n_(H) and n_(L), thicknesses d, andcoordinates (relative to the grating period) of the high-refractiveindex region of each grating X_(L) and X_(H). To select the refractiveindices in each layer, the algorithm generates integer random numbers,which represent pointers to refractive index values in the correspondinginput file. Homogeneous layers are generated either when the samerefractive index is selected for both regions of the binary grating, orwhen the fill factor defined as (X_(H)−X_(L)) is smaller or greater thanthe values specified by the user in the input file f_(min) and f_(max).For (X_(H)−X_(L)) <f_(min) the layer is considered as homogeneous withthe refractive index n_(L), while for (X_(H)−X_(L))>f_(max) the layer ishomogeneous with refractive index n_(H). Different values of X_(L) indifferent layers generate phase-shifted layers. The number of layersN_(L) is fixed and provided by the user. However the program can analyzestructures with fewer layers whenever it selects a layer thickness thatis smaller than the minimum layer thickness (from the input file). Inthis case, the thickness is set to zero and the number of layersdecreases by one.

The number sequence forming a population of strings is unique for eachrun of the program. A feature is included that allows the same numbersequence to be generated each time for debugging or reproducibilitypurposes [110]. In binary representation, each bit of a string has equalprobabilities of being set to 0 or 1. In the real encoding the genes areset to a value selected uniformly within the user-specified range.

The population (i.e., the total number of chromosomes generated in thebeginning, which is to remain constant after each iteration) isestablished by the user depending on the dimension of the search spaceand the length of the chromosome. An increased number of genes and/or alarge range of variation for the genes may require a large populationfor effective optimization. Operating with larger populations, thegenetic algorithm is more likely to find the global minimum of the meritfunction since it searches more regions of the space simultaneously.However, this is achieved at the expense of an increase in computationaltime, which imposes a practical limitation on the population size.

The initially generated population is evaluated by calculating a meritfunction for each chromosome as the deviation between the synthesizedvalue of reflected (or transmitted) zero-order diffraction efficiencyand the desired one. The genetic algorithm searches for the globalminimum of the following merit function

$\begin{matrix}{{MF} = \left\lbrack {\frac{1}{M}{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{M}{w_{i}{{{DE}_{{GA},i} - {DE}_{{ref},i}}}^{n}}}} \right\rbrack^{1/n}} & (5.1)\end{matrix}$where DE_(GA,i) are zero order reflected (or transmitted) diffractionefficiency values calculated with rigorous-coupled wave analysis for thestructure generated by the genetic algorithm, DE_(ref,i) are thereference data points, M is the total number of target values, w_(i) arethe weight factors, and n is the power index of the merit function. Thetarget points represent either a wavelength or an angular dependence ofa diffraction order efficiency. Any diffraction order may be selectedfor optimization, but for the applications of interest to this workconcerning only zero-order gratings, the zero-order efficiencies areutilized. The power index of the merit function can take any integervalues but in thin-film optics optimization routines the most commonvalue is n=2. Different values of n, can affect the optimization resultsdue to changes induced in the relative contributions of individualtarget deviation points |DE_(GA,i)−DE_(ref,j)| to the merit function.For larger values of n higher deviations, will be emphasized and themerit function becomes more sensitive to nonequal deviations forcing thegenetic algorithm to find a more uniform approximation to the referencedata [96].

Once the merit function has been calculated, the chromosomes are rankedfrom the best-fit to the least-fit, with the best-fit possessing thelowest merit function. A number of chromosomes are retained while othersare replaced by newly generated chromosomes. The selection mechanismtypically used is the tournament selection consisting in retaining thebest chromosomes of a population. Other selection mechanisms such asprobabilistic tournament (with an associated probability of selecting achromosome), proportional and stochastic universal selection can also bechosen for use in the optimization procedure [110]. The number ofchromosomes replaced is an input parameter to the program and has animportant influence on the optimization progress. A high percentage ofchromosomes replaced provides more new points for fitness testing whichis beneficial in the search procedure, but it will also increase thecomputation time. It is also possible that a large replacement willcause the elimination of certain chromosomes that, after subsequentcrossover and mutation, would have generated the optimum solution.Therefore, several convergence tests need to be performed to establishthe optimum population replacement for a specific problem [77].

The new population that replaces the discarded chromosomes is formed bycrossover and mutation of the chromosomes that are retained from the oldgeneration [110]. The chromosomes that survive become parents andgenerate enough chromosomes to maintain the total population constantfrom one generation to another. The algorithm allows the user to decidewhether a string can undergo both crossover and mutation or just one ofthe two operations.

In the case where either crossover or mutation is carried out, theprobability of going towards one or the other operation is decided by arandom logical variable that has an associated flip probability(provided in the input file) of returning a logical value “true.” Aprobability of 0.5 corresponds to flipping an unbiased coin. In the casewhen both mutation and crossover are performed, the random logical valueof the flip probability determines whether crossover is executed firstfollowed by a mutation operation or vice versa [110].

Crossover takes place by pairing the chromosomes selected to survivefrom the old generation into the new one from top to bottom of the list(with best-ranked strings at the top). The crossover operation isperformed with a probability defined by the user in the input file. Thealgorithm has the options of single-point, two-point or uniformcrossover (FIG. 25). For the latter type of crossover, the probabilityof swapping two parent bits (or genes in case of real encoding) calleduniform crossover probability, must be specified in the input file.

Mutation takes place with a probability defined by the user in the inputfile. For binary encoding, mutation is performed by replacing one ormore of the bits of a chromosome with its complement. For real encoding,the mutation occurs for one or more genes of a chromosome and can be oneof several types: “range,” “constant,” “uniform,” or “Gaussian” [110].If the mutation is of the “range” type, the gene will be replaced with anumber selected with equal probability from the allowed range ofvariation for the gene. In the other three mutation types the gene g isreplaced by g±p×g where the value of p is determined differently foreach mutation operator. For constant mutation, p is a constant providedby the user. Uniform mutation occurs when p is selected uniformly froman interval [0−M_(u)] where M_(u) is an input parameter. In the Gaussiantype of mutation p is generated by a Gaussian distribution with mean 0and standard deviation σ given in the input file.

After generating a new pair of chromosomes through crossover and/ormutation, the algorithm performs a verification to determine whetherthey are different from their parent chromosomes. If the new chromosomeis identical to the parent chromosome, the mutation operator is appliedto the new chromosome until at least one mutation has occurred.

After evaluation of the newly generated chromosomes and ranking the newgeneration, the process of selection, crossover, and mutation isrepeated until the stopping criteria is met. This can be determined by afixed number of iterations, no change in the best string after a numberof iterations, or when certain fraction of the population has the samemerit function [110]. The genetic algorithm also has the restartingoption by which the best string is kept and all others are generated asmutants of the best string. The number of iterations between restartingoperations is defined by the user.

The program prints the best N_(out) chromosomes and their correspondingmerit functions in the output file, where N_(out) is an input parameter.By printing a number of the top chromosomes, the user can asses thedistribution of solutions and hence the degree of convergence of thealgorithm. A large dispersion in the gene values of the finalchromosomes indicates that the algorithm has not yet converged andchanges need to be made in the input parameters of a future run. Typicalchanges would be to try more iterations, larger populations, or imposemore constraints according to a priori knowledge about the physics ofthe problem [111]. However changes in other genetic algorithm inputparameters can also improve the convergence and the effectiveness of theoptimization.

Convergence Tests

The genetic algorithm developed in this work has a generalapplicability. The genetic operators and optimization procedure can beutilized in any optimization task involving multilayer structurescontaining gratings and homogeneous layers, with minor modificationspertaining to the encoding and decoding of the chromosomes. The meritfunction evaluation subroutines can be applied to optimization of anystructure that can be modeled with the rigorous coupled-wave analysis.

However, the optimum set of the program-input parameters may be problemspecific due to the dimension of the solution space and the particularvariation of the merit function in the parameter space. To determine theinfluence of the input parameters on the optimization procedure andfinal result, and to find some guidelines for selecting the appropriateset of input parameters for a specific application, it is important tostudy the evolution of the optimization process (i.e., the convergence)for various starting conditions [65,77].

In this section, the convergence of the merit function is studied as afunction of key genetic-algorithm parameters such as the populationreplaced at each iteration, mutation probability, type of encoding,number of generations, population size, for the same problem. In alltests discussed here, the program is required to design a single-layerguided-mode resonance reflection filter with the response specified inthe input file by the spectral dependence of the zero-order reflectiondiffraction efficiency. This reference data is generated with therigorous coupled-wave theory for a single-layer grating with thefollowing physical parameters: grating period Λ=314 nm, thickness d=134nm, fill factor f=0.5, refractive indices of the grating: n_(H)=2.1 andn_(L)=2.0, refractive indices of the cover and substrate: n_(C)=1.0 andn_(S)=1.52, and normally incident, TE polarized plane wave. Theoptimization is performed in terms of the layer thickness, fill factorand refractive indices of the grating over a wavelength range0.546-0.554 μm. The grating period is fixed at the value Λ=314 nm, thecover and substrate refractive indices have constant values of n_(C)=1.0and n_(S)=1.52, respectively, and the incident angle is set at θ=0°. Theallowed range for fill factor optimization is between 0.1-0.9 and thethickness range is 50-350 nm. Throughout the tests the algorithm usesthe same set of 13 refractive indices with values from 1.3-2.5 inincrements of 0.1. The materials are assumed to be lossless although theprogram can handle lossy grating structures as well.

Comparing the merit function values for tests with the three differenttypes of crossover, it was found that multiple crossover yields the bestresults in comparison with the single-point and two-point crossoveroperators. The crossover probability was maintained at 0.8 and theuniform crossover probability was 0.5 for all tests performed. Othergenetic algorithm parameters kept constant for all tests were the flipprobability equal to 0.5, the tournament selection type, and maximumiteration as the stopping criterion.

The tests performed with populations of 500 and 1000 chromosomesindicate that although fast convergence and low merit function valuesare also possible with a smaller number of chromosomes, for certainvalues of the genetic algorithm parameters, the larger population isgenerally expected to yield lower merit functions, for all otherparameters being constant. However, in some cases the increasedcomputation time for larger populations may not be rewarded by asubstantial decrease in merit function and an optimum population has tobe determined for a typical chromosome length and search space. It hasbeen observed that larger populations also provide the algorithm withless sensitivity to the other input parameters, and therefore fewertrials are required to determine the optimum set of genetic algorithmparameters.

A more detailed investigation of the convergence sensitivity to geneticalgorithm parameters was performed for the population replacement andthe mutation probability, contrasting real versus binary and Grayencoding performance [77]. Hence, the population size was fixed at 500,the crossover type was uniform with probability fixed at 0.8, and thenumber of generations and mutation probability were varied. For the realencoding the mutation type was chosen to be Gaussian with standarddeviation σ=0.1. In all cases the newly created strings were specifiedto undergo both crossover and mutation. When using binary or Grayencoding, 10 bits were chosen to represent the thickness, 10 bits torepresent the fill factor, and 4 bits to represent the pointer to theset of materials. In this case uniform crossover with probability 0.8was chosen. The number of generations was taken to be 400, to ensurethat convergence had been reached.

After performing at least four runs for the same set-up, with differentrandom number sequences in the genetic algorithm functions to seed thepopulation, in order to construct a statistically significant sample ofthe outcomesit was noted that the real encoding produced smaller meritfunctions, therefore indicating that for this problem it is bettersuited than the others. Overall, the sensitivity to replacement valuesover the range 50-250 chromosomes was not very strong considering thetotal distribution of results. In the case of real encoding, on average,the lowest merit function was obtained for a replacement value of 150.In the case of binary and Gray encodings, slightly smaller meritfunctions were achieved for the replacement value of 250. However, thisreplacement also produced a large spread of the residuals indicatingthat a poor solution can obtained as well as a good one.

Turning to the behavior of the residual as a function of increasingvalues of mutation probability, for the binary and Gray encoding, areplacement value of 50 was used, whereas for the real encoding thevalue was 200. Otherwise, the same genetic algorithm parameters asdiscussed above were retained. The binary and Gray encoding results werenot very sensitive to the value of mutation probability. However, onaverage, the binary encoding favored lower mutation probabilities thanthe real encoding, which benefits from an increase in the value of thisparameter to 1. In the real encoding, the mutation operator was appliedto the gene as a whole, which, for the structures studied here, arerepresented by 4 numbers. In the binary encoding, mutation took place atthe level of individual bits (e.g., for a representation of the filterparameters (d, f, n_(H), n_(L)) with (10, 10, 4, 4) bits, the mutationis applied individually to all of the 28 bits of the chromosome with thespecified mutation probability).

Therefore, for the mutation to be active in the search procedure withthe real encoding, the mutation probability must be higher than in thebinary case where a low probability is compensated by the larger numberof elements (bits) to which it is applied. The differences observedbetween the binary and the real encodings were also due to the differentmanner in which mutation was carried out. In the real encoding, theGaussian mutation did not change the gene value by an arbitrarily largeamount as in the binary case, but applied a random change in a limitedrange (determined by σ) around the value of the gene.

Thus, in the real encoding, mutation performed a more localized searchalongside the crossover operator before shifting to a different regionof space and was able to find a global minimum with greater accuracy. Itwas found that mutation probabilities of 1 were detrimental in thebinary encoding due to the rapid changes occurring in the bestchromosomes, which prevented the fine tuning performed by crossover. Onaverage, very low mutation probabilities (0.001) produced equally poorresults by precluding the algorithm from exploring new regions in theparameter space.

Turning to the convergence history for three different values of numberof chromosomes replaced at each generation (i.e., 50, 150 and 250), whenincreasing this number, note that the value of the merit function atconvergence was reached after a decreasing number of generations. Whilethe computational burden increased with the increase of the chromosomesreplaced per generation, this was offset by the ability to reachconvergence in fewer generations.

Therefore, the total amount of calculations necessary to reachconvergence was similar in all cases. Note that the real encodinggenerally provided lower merit functions than the binary and Grayencodings. The high sensitivity of the guided-mode resonances tostructural parameters was equivalent to a rugged search space for thegenetic algorithm with multiple and narrow local extrema. Therefore, theimproved fine-tuning performed by the mutation operator in the realencoding lead to superior convergence results.

The number of reference reflectance vs. wavelength points has been foundto significantly influence the final result of the optimization process.It is well known from homogeneous thin-film optimization techniques thatmore “targets” typically lead to improved results due to the additionalinformation supplied by the user [94].

The number of data points was an even more critical parameter in thedesign of grating devices that exhibit sharp variations in thereflectance and transmittance spectral dependence. In this case, theglobal minima of the merit function can not be reached if insufficienttarget data is provided. In reference 112, for instance, themicro-genetic algorithm uses only one reference point with zero-orderreflectance equal to 1 at the wavelength [ =1.0]. The resultingstructure exhibits an almost 100% peak at λ=1.0 but otherhigh-efficiency peaks are also present in the proximity of the desiredpeak thus limiting the filter range. The side peaks can be eliminated inthe optimization process by providing the merit function with morereference reflectance points. In the present work, between 40-80reference data points were used. The major drawback of the increasednumber of target data was the increased computation time.

The distribution of reference reflectance points in the spectral rangeof interest was also important in the search for an optimum design. Inthe case of the rapidly varying reflectance characteristics studiedhere, it was advantageous to use unequally spaced data points with morereflectance values in the resonance spectral region and less in thesidebands. Utilizing this type of distribution, the algorithm was ablein all tests to find a resonance and typically within ±0.1 nm of thereference reflectance peak.

A different method to emphasize some reference points over others is tointroduce different weight factors. Increased values of the weightfactors in some reference points will raise the accuracy in thesespectral regions at the expense of a larger target deviation inwavelength regions considered of lesser importance.

REFERENCES

The following references, to the extent that they provide exemplaryprocedural or other details supplementary to those set forth herein, arespecifically incorporated herein by reference.

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1. A method of using a waveguide grating comprising: providing awaveguide grating device, comprising: at least one waveguide having anend, the end having an endface; and a waveguide grating fabricated onthe endface of the at least one waveguide, the waveguide grating havingat least one waveguide layer and at least one grating layer; contactingthe waveguide grating with a medium; propagating a signal having atleast one signal attribute through the at least one waveguide such thatthe signal contacts the waveguide grating, the waveguide grating beingconfigured such that the at least one signal attribute is consequentlymodified; determining at least one parameter of the medium using themodified signal attribute; and outputting the at least one parameter. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one signal attributecomprises the spectral content of the signal.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the at least one signal attribute comprises the intensity of thesignal.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter ofthe medium comprises the presence or absence of a substance.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter of the mediumcomprises the quantity of a substance.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinthe at least one parameter of the medium comprises the refractive indexof the medium.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least oneparameter of the medium comprises the thickness of the medium.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the medium includes a first parameter and asecond parameter, and the determining includes determining both thefirst and second parameters using the modified signal attribute.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the at least one signal attribute comprisesthe polarization of the signal.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein theat least one waveguide layer and the at least one grating layer comprisethe same layer.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least onewaveguide layer and the at least one grating layer comprise differentlayers.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one signalattribute comprises the phase of the signal.
 13. The method of claim 1,wherein the at least one signal attribute comprises a first signalattribute and a second signal attribute, and the first signal attributeis the transverse electric (TE) polarization peak of the signal and thesecond signal attribute is the transverse magnetic (TM) polarizationpeak of the signal.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the waveguidegrating device includes a layer that is bioselective.
 15. The method ofclaim 14, wherein a sensor is operationally coupled to the waveguidegrating device.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the sensor isintegrated with the bioselective layer.
 17. The method of claim 16,wherein the sensor is a fluorescence sensor.
 18. The method of claim 16,wherein the sensor is an electrochemical sensor.
 19. The method of claim16, wherein the sensor is a surface plasmon sensor.
 20. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the waveguide grating device includes a metal layerthat contacts the medium during the contacting.
 21. The method of claim1, wherein the waveguide grating device includes a dielectric layer thatcontacts the medium during the contacting.
 22. The method of claim 14,wherein the medium comprises an analyte.
 23. The method of claim 22,wherein the analyte comprises a gas.
 24. The method of claim 22, whereinthe analyte comprises a protein.
 25. The method of claim 22, wherein theanalyte comprises a micro-organism.
 26. The method of claim 22, whereinthe analyte comprises a metabolite.
 27. The method of claim 22, whereinthe analyte comprises a DNA sequence.
 28. The method of claim 22,wherein the analyte comprises blood.
 29. The method of claim 22, whereinthe analyte comprises tissue.
 30. The method of claim 1, wherein themedium comprises a liquid fuel.
 31. The method of claim 1, wherein themedium comprises a gas.
 32. The method of claim 1, wherein the mediumcomprises an oil.
 33. The method of claim 1, wherein the providingcomprises providing an array of waveguide grating devices.
 34. A methodof using a waveguide grating as a biosensor, comprising: providing aguided-mode resonance waveguide grating having at least one waveguidelayer, at least one grating layer, and a bioselective layer; contactingthe waveguide grating with a medium; propagating a signal having atleast one signal attribute onto the guided-mode resonance waveguidegrating such that the signal contacts the guided-mode resonancewaveguide grating, the guided-mode resonance waveguide grating beingconfigured such that the at least one signal attribute is consequentlymodified; determining at least one parameter of the medium using themodified signal attribute; and outputting the at least one parameter.35. The method of claim 34, wherein a sensor is operationally coupled tothe waveguide grating.
 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the sensor isintegrated with the bioselective layer.
 37. The method of claim 36,wherein the sensor is a fluorescence sensor.
 38. The method of claim 36,wherein the sensor is an electrochemical sensor.
 39. The method of claim36, wherein the sensor is a surface plasmon sensor.
 40. The method ofclaim 34, wherein the medium comprises an analyte.
 41. The method ofclaim 40, wherein the analyte comprises a gas.
 42. The method of claim40, wherein the analyte comprises a protein.
 43. The method of claim 40,wherein the analyte comprises a micro-organism.
 44. The method of claim40, wherein the analyte comprises a metabolite.
 45. The method of claim40, wherein the analyte comprises a DNA sequence.
 46. The method ofclaim 40, wherein the analyte comprises blood.
 47. The method of claim40, wherein the analyte comprises tissue.
 48. A method of using awaveguide grating, comprising: providing a waveguide grating having atleast one waveguide layer and at least one grating layer; contacting thewaveguide grating with a medium; propagating a signal having atransverse electric (TE) polarization peak and a transverse magnetic(TM) polarization peak onto the waveguide grating such that the signalcontacts the waveguide grating, the waveguide grating being configuredsuch that the TE and TM polarization peaks are modified; determining atleast one parameter of the medium using the modified TE and TMpolarization peaks; and outputting the at least one parameter.